“I have a surprise for you,” Reagan announces, smiling in my direction.

“What?” I question, skeptically. I’m not a big fan of surprises. The last surprise I got involved my fiancé sleeping with a friend. Surprise! And knocking her up. Surprise!

“You’re coming to New York,” she announces.

“What?”

“I bought you a ticket to come with us when we go to the city for Noah’s fight during the second week of July. I booked you a hotel room; also my treat.”

“Reagan, I wish you wouldn’t have done that. I don’t have the money to pay you back, right now. Every cent I’ve saved is going toward paying for dental school.”

“You’re not paying me back, silly. This is a gift for me, more than you.”

I raise my eyebrow at her. “How do you figure?”

“I don’t get to see enough of you. Even now that you’re back in Boston, we still don’t spend much time together. Buying you a ticket ensures I will.” She smiles, proudly.

“Well aren’t you just a little manipulator,” I say, pressing my lips together.

“Are you mad about it?” Reagan questions, looking worried.

“No, how can I be? It’s a really sweet gesture and being in New York with you will be a blast.”

* * *

Six weeks later - July

“Thanks for giving me a ride,” I say, smiling at my sister, Kennedy. “I really didn’t want to ask Mom. Fifteen minutes trapped in the car with her is more than I can handle right now. I still can’t believe Reagan bought me a plane ticket.”

Kennedy shrugs her shoulders. “Reagan never does anything she doesn’t want to.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” My eyes flick in her direction.

“No, it’s not bad, but not all of us have that luxury,” she replies, flatly.

My gaze roams over her face, noticing how pale she is, and her cheekbones look sharper than usual. She’s losing weight. “What’s going on with you? Why are you so thin?”

“I’ve always been thin.”

“This is more than usual and you seem down. Is it Mike? Is he bothering you, again?”

“He’s never really gone away. I’ve been keeping my distance from him, but he has a habit of showing up unexpectedly.”

“Wasn’t Dad going to put the fear of God into him?” I question.

“He wanted to, but I don’t need Dad getting into trouble. He’d probably lose his temper and pop him one. He doesn’t need a law suit and Mike is just the type to go that route.”

I unzip my carryon bag for the fifth time to obsessively make sure I have everything. Kennedy continues speaking as I rifle through my belongings. “What’s going on with you? Are you over that weasel you were engaged to?”

“I’m over him, but I’m not over what happened if that makes sense.” Zipping the bag closed, I place it on the floor between my feet.

“I guess I can understand that.” She nods her head, eyes focused on the road.

“I miss being in a relationship and having someone I can count on. We did spend over four years together.” I smooth a hand over my hair. “Being alone after all that time is hard and living with Mom and Dad doesn’t make it easier.” I take a deep breath and exhale a long sigh. “God, I need to get out of their house. I don’t know which one of them drives me crazier. If Mom isn’t hovering and telling me what I need to do, Dad is asking me fifty questions.”

Kennedy giggles. “I can only imagine. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.”

“Finding a place to live is my priority as soon as I get back from this trip. Also, finding a job with more hours. Working at the coffee shop three days a week isn’t going to be enough.”

“Enjoy this trip. You deserve the change of scenery. Get a little wild. Have sex with someone you just met.”

My head snaps around as she wiggles her eyebrows, never taking her eyes from the road. “You know that’s not going to happen. I plan on drinking excessively and maybe dancing until my feet hurt. That’s about as wild as it’s going to get.”

She shakes her head then signals to take the ramp into Logan Airport.

I undo my seatbelt as the car stops along the curb. “Thanks for the ride.” Leaning over, I give her a quick hug.

“Text me if anything exciting happens.”

I snort. “This is me we’re talking about, not you. Exciting doesn’t exist in my world.” As the words leave my lips I think about the kisses I’ve shared with the mysterious Nick and I know my words aren’t entirely true. Our kisses were the hottest ones of my life.

“Live a little, Carter. Loosen up, lose the pink,” she gestures at my shirt, “and let some hot dude take you back to his room.”

Rolling my eyes in her direction, I close the door. She lowers the passenger window. “Seriously, this is your homework for this trip.” I pause and arch an eyebrow at her. “I want you to get drunk with someone of the opposite sex and you have to at least kiss them. The rest will take care of itself.”

“Sure,” I say, mostly to pacify her. Grabbing my suitcase out of the trunk, I set it down and adjust my bag higher on my shoulder. Gripping the plastic handle, I roll it behind me, pausing on the sidewalk beside the car to blow Kennedy a kiss.

“I mean it, Car. I want a full report after it happens.”

“Yeah, yeah. Love you.” I wave, wiggling my fingers.

She smiles. “Love you too.”

I make my way toward the entrance, rolling my bag along the pitted sidewalk. “Have fun,” Kennedy shouts as she drives away.

Thirty minutes later I’m finally approaching the gate. My bag’s been checked and all that’s left is to wait for my flight.

Reagan, Noah and my Dad are all in New York City already. They left last weekend, so Noah could get adjusted to the media buzz and get some training in. Something as simple as being in a new state or training facility can be enough to throw a fighter off their game.

My dad is like the fighter’s version of Yoda. He’s got tricks of the trade that really make a difference and none of his fighters question his training methods. If they do, they don’t last long. You can’t turn someone into a champion if they fight you every step of the way.

Taking a seat in one of the vacant chairs, I pull out my kindle, losing myself in the latest thriller I’ve downloaded. Reading is the only thing keeping me sane these days. With the combined stress of living with my parents and everything that’s happened with Joseph, sometimes I think my composed facade is sure to crack.

On top of those things, I also need to find an affordable place to live and get a full-time job. I want to work as much as I can before I start school in January. And this is my second and final go at dental school. I’ve already completed the first year, but I foolishly let Joseph talk me into putting the final three years on hold - indefinitely.

What was I thinking? Moving back to Boston has been the best thing for me. Even if Joseph and Lisa still live in the same small state as me, I now have a fresh perspective on life.

I’ve thought about the past more than I care to admit and I’m still not sure how I let myself be turned into such a meek, agreeable puppet. It scares me to know I was so quick to become everything he wanted me to be and none of whom I’ve always dreamed of being. Why did I give up my goals to gain his approval?

Tucking my kindle back inside my bag, I zip it closed when they make the announcement to start boarding the plane. My stomach tumbles over and over with every step closer I get to the gate. I’m deathly afraid of crashing. The last time I was on a plane I hyperventilated so bad, I almost passed out. In my moment of panic, I jumped out of my seat into the aisle and started running around like a chicken with its head cut off. You’d think that not getting enough air in your lungs would make you settle down to conserve energy, but it had the opposite effect. So, I’m not only worried about crashing and plummeting to the ground in a ball of fire, I also fear I’ll make a fool of myself in front of all the passengers.

Somehow, I manage to hold it together until I’m in my seat and then my heart starts racing. Next comes the tightness in my throat that makes it almost impossible to draw in a deep breath or swallow. Resting my head back on the seat, I close my eyes and try to slow my heart rate. Just as it feels like it might be working, a deep voice to my right surprises me. “Is this your bag?”

My eyes open to find Nick standing in the aisle, gesturing at the carryon I had set down in the seat beside me. What the hell is he doing here?

“Candy, are you okay?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

It’s hearing the ridiculous nickname that has me snapping out of my fog. “Yeah, that’s mine.” I reach for the handle, but he beats me to it, storing it in the overhead compartment. “Thank you,” I murmur. He sits and our arms brush against each other.

I can feel his eyes on the right side of my face. “Go ahead and ask,” he says.

My head snaps around and I meet his gaze. I also catch the crooked smile on his full lips. “Ask what?”

“Ask me what I’m doing here. You know you’re dying to.”

I grit my teeth in annoyance. How does he know what I’m thinking? “I hadn’t really given it any thought,” I say, playing it off.

He leans closer as if he’s going to share a secret with me. I catch a whiff of his manly cologne and hungrily inhale the masculine scent. I pull it deep into my nostrils hoping I’ll never forget the smell. “I’m going to New York, so I can be one of Noah’s corner guys.”

I nod my head slowly, incapable of answering with his lips so close to mine. I can see the golden flecks in his hazel eyes and the quick smile he flashes has me admiring his straight, white teeth.

“Did you have braces?” I blurt the question out and then flush with embarrassment.

“I did,” he nods. “I went through three years of torture for this smile.” He points to his displayed teeth. “What d’ya think? Was it worth it?”

My eyes take in the symmetry of his incisors and I nod. “Definitely.” He grins at my answer.

The announcements begin and when they talk about what to do in an emergency, my heart begins to race. Calm down. I remind myself, but it doesn’t have much of an effect.

Over the next few minutes, my thoughts begin to spiral out of control. I worry about the rate of my speeding heart and the lack of oxygen I’m taking in. My fingers clutch at my thighs when we begin to charge down the runway. My eyes squeeze shut and my teeth clench as I press my head back into the seat.

Warmth comfortingly surrounds my hand and a deep voice in my ear urges me to breathe. “You’re okay, Candy. I’m right here,” he soothes as his thumb gently caresses the back of my hand.

I focus on the sensation of his skin on mine and try not to think about the metal death trap that’s lifting off at this precise minute. When he releases his hold on me, I let out a panicked sound. “It’s okay. I’m just moving,” he explains as he wraps an arm around me and urges my head to his shoulder. The plane bumps and bounces as we climb higher and I give in to the urge to be comforted, resting my head on his chest and wrapping an arm around his stomach. With both of his arms around me, my heart rate settles, and my breathing becomes less labored. Keeping my eyes closed, I savor the feeling of his muscular frame under my cheek as his delicious scent envelops me. His strong steady heartbeat under my ear reassures me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been held like this.

Who am I kidding? I’ve never been held like this.